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University of West Georgia
Strategic Plan 2008-2013
Submitted by Institutional Studies and Planning Committee
October 2, 2007
Table of Contents
Preamble
Executive Summary
Plan
Glossary
Preamble
The strategic plan presented here is not the first of its kind at West Georgia. On the contrary, this one grows out of the context and tradition of the previous planning process. In the fall of 2000, President Sethna created and charged an ad hoc committee with creating a strategic plan for the University. That committee, which contained representatives from all areas of campus work and life, created two-level strategic document that listed non-negotiable goals as “Bread and Butter Goals” and a set of aspirational goals as the “Visionary Goals” or the “Three by Five” goals, so called because they were defined by three sets of fives – in five goals, five years, top five per cent of the nation. (These reports and some other materials are still available on the committee’s web site http://www.westga.edu/~spc.)
In March of 2007, Acting President Tim Hynes, very much in concert with Dr. Beheruz Sethna, who was at that time away in a temporary position as Executive Vice Chancellor for the University System of Georgia in the Atlanta Office, charged the Institutional Studies and Planning Committee of the Faculty Senate with revisiting and re-presenting a strategic plan for the University. Not long at all after the committee met, we all realized that we did not want just to echo the previous strategic document. In fact, it seemed to us that many of the University’s publics wanted a clearly and singly defined vision of the University. Mindful, to be sure, of the idealistic goal of crafting a singly defined vision of the University, the committee began a careful review of the previous planning documents in order to build upon them but also to shape a new plan at least toward a singly defined vision. Consequently, this plan carries forward a great deal of the sentiment and goals of the previous strategic plan but with a few significant differences.
Perhaps the most significant difference between this plan and the previous one can be explained by the committee’s adherence to a principle of pragmatism or realism. The committee members in their attempt to craft a definition of the University also wanted to stay grounded in what it is the University actually does and does well, and that it has done well for much of its history. The answer came in liberal arts-based professional preparation. The majority of the students that we graduate and that succeed in some form of satisfying employment are products of West Georgia’s long standing high quality liberal arts programming which informs and inspires and sustains professional curricula in nursing, education, and business.
Unwilling to leave out all aspirational goals, the committee began to formulate a second part of this goal – the total integration of co-curricular programming. This is not what we do now, but what we wish to do. Over the last few years, UWG has crafted the beginnings of a substantial first-year program and some other co-curricular developments, but it has been somewhat of a hodge-podge development. Our committee thought that the University could simply yoke together these efforts under an office or small committee and develop a uniform version of co-curricular experiences for every year of undergraduate life (thus, instead of first-year programming, we talk about student level-programming) and an integration of graduate studies to the issues of undergraduates.
As we were developing the earliest version of our plan the USG came out with a draft of its own strategic plan, which the committee had to quickly take note of and incorporate where important, useful, or necessary. This phase has been a helpful one and supplemental to the overall process.
Therefore, the committee offers this phase of the strategic plan. After the goals and subgoals are agreed upon, the next phase is to develop something of an implementation strategy for each goal. A separate subcommittee will be charged for each of the four goals in order to develop action items and assessment measures. As we move forward we want to stress that officers, faculty, staff, students, and other stakeholders should understand that in order for the University to accomplish its mission and reach the goals outlined below its daily work must be conducted in an environment of open and free inquiry and debate in which leaders, faculty, staff, and students know themselves empowered and their requisite work valued. The people carrying forward this work should be convinced that the work is valuable and that once settled the University will make every effort to implement the plan and allow resources to follow the direction that that strategic plan sets forth. Chancellor Davis is often quoted approvingly that a strategic plan should not just collect dust on an administrative bookshelf; it should matter; it should be consequential; it should, in short, drive the budget. This indeed is what we hope to see insofar as that is possible.
UWG Strategic Plan for 2008-2013
Vision of the Strategic Plan
The University of West Georgia (UWG) will pursue a strategy to become a competitive member of a robust tier of comprehensive universities in the University System of Georgia (USG), serving the broader west Georgia region as well as metro Atlanta and beyond including international students and clients. The fundamental effort of the University will be to provide for a diverse student population an array of high quality graduate and undergraduate programs in the liberal arts, business, and education that have as their distinctive mark the successful preparation for professional careers. These programs will be as diverse as English and Nursing and taught by a faculty who are equally committed to teaching as they are research and service. Furthermore, West Georgia will be known for its distinctive approach to an integrated student experience, an experience that for undergraduates will be designed to guide them through their freshman experience to career goals and for graduate and professional programs to connect them as mentors, models, and guides for others on campus.
UWG History and the Strategic Plan
West Georgia’s history, its “rural roots” to use the term of the Centennial Commission, is grounded in professional preparation. It was primarily a teacher’s college in the early twentieth century, and its future, its “global reach,” will likewise be professional preparation in a more broadly defined manner. The earliest orientation of the history of West Georgia is as an A&M school and thus again we see at its core an emphasis on pragmatic education. This emphasis is by no means to be understood as what may be referred to derisively as vocational and technical education; rather, it should be understood as the yoking together the best of the liberal arts tradition of an education that teaches students to think, the create theories and test them, and the tradition of an education that teaches students to act, to do, to be in the world of business, education, science, the health professions. To be trained such is to follow the spirit of Benjamin Franklin whose theory of education informs the foundational principles of the University of Pennsylvania, according to whom “Franklin outlined a progressive college: one that would offer practical as well as classical instruction in order to prepare youth for real-world pursuits.” The future for West Georgia students is directed toward the global reach and globalization will affect every one of our students. As one of the most popular of recent writers on globalization, Thomas Friedman, makes clear, the best training for this new world is a liberal arts training that prepares the students for new worlds of work. This is our plan, to emphasize our history of liberal arts and professional preparation to prepare students for the as yet unknown professions in the global economy of our very near future.
Executive Summary of Strategic Goals
Primary Strategic Mission: Over the next five years, UWG seeks to be recognized as a distinctive member of the top tier of comprehensive universities in the USG and a first-choice university for an increasing number of constituents by achieving the following goals.
1. Reaffirming and Improving Quality Academic Programming from the Bachelor’s to the Doctorate with a focus on liberal arts, experiential learning, and professional competencies.
a. Undergraduate Academic Programming that blends liberal arts, experiential learning, and professional competencies to prepare students for civic engagement and professions or careers in the 21st century.
i. The Core Curriculum will be reformed to emphasize liberal arts and professional competency learning outcomes necessary for civic engagement and professions/careers in the 21st century.
ii. Every student will complete at least one course rich in new media delivery.
iii. Each college unit (Arts & Sciences, Business, Education) will offer curricular that fosters American and global cultural literacy.
iv. Each degree program will articulate professional competency learning outcomes.
v. Every degree program will offer a program of study that prepares students for careers in their chosen field.
vi. Undergraduate participation in study abroad will be increased by n% a year.
b. Undergraduate Co-curricular Programming focused on integration, an integration that connects together as a class (e.g. first year) and that connects classroom learning with real-world contexts through academic and professional experiential activities.
i. A comprehensive advising program will promote and facilitate the integration of students’ coursework, career readiness opportunities, and extracurricular activities from freshman year to graduation.
ii. Bridge programming that addresses societal and professional issues will link students by class level and by topic. So, for example, the first year might focus on civility, the second on civic engagement, the third on ethics, and the last year on professionalism as informed the previous three.
iii. Students will participate in experiential learning experiences related to their academic course of study. Opportunities include, but are not limited to practica, internships, co-ops, service-learning experiences, applied research projects, creative performances, and study abroad experiences.
c. Graduate Programs that are grounded on and extend the integrative philosophy of the University’s undergraduate programming.
i. All graduate programs will blend liberal arts fundamentals, disciplinary theory, and practical application.
ii. Every graduate program will maintain a professional advising or mentoring structure.
iii. Where appropriate, graduate students should interact with undergraduates in one or more of the following ways: leading a seminar, workshop, or undergraduate research conference; serving as mentor for an internship, co-op position, or service-learning activity; or by serving as a lab or teaching assistant.
d. Educator Preparation Programs that honor and build upon the history of West Georgia as a significant provider of teachers for the state.
i. Teacher preparation programs will develop and adopt relevant curricula that strengthen teacher quality and impact K-12 student learning outcomes.
ii. Education leadership programs will strive to develop school leaders with performance-based skills to continuously improve K-12 schools.
iii. The University will increase its connections to and support of local public and DTAE schools by appointing liaisons and joint commissions.
iv. The University will provide leadership in Early College and Gateway to College initiatives.
v. The University will articulate with IB, AP, and other early college credit programs.
2. Creating Continuous Improvements in Campus Climate and Culture
a. Safe Environment – The University will remain steadfastly committed to the maintaining a safe campus for people and ideas.
b. Communication – Clear communication, honest dialogue, and open inquiry are the heart of academia.
c. Support Services – Strong and responsive infrastructures as the basis of campus cultural improvement.
d. Reward Structures – Positive reinforcement to promote high quality performance.
e. Competitive Compensation Packages – Recruitment and retention of high quality university community members.
f. Student Life – Evening and weekend programming that not only provides the residential students some diversion but that attracts other students to stay on campus.
3. Managing Resources for Efficiency, Functionality, and Aesthetics
a. Enrollment Management for greater prediction and control of student populations relative to campus resources
b. Expand off-campus and distance education programming to meet demand and more efficiently classroom space.
c. Long-term Facilities Planning aligned with strategic plan, academic plan, enrollment predictions and campus architectural style
d. Employing “Back-Office” Efficiencies to provide greater customer service and perhaps freeing up recourses
e. Strategic Budgeting where possible to anticipate costs of library, ITS, and other typically year-end funded areas.
f. Organizational Assessment – Reorganization Efforts to increase functionality, eliminate redundancy and review the outcomes of the organization
g. Customer Service Improvements
4. Enhancing Efforts of External Support and Services
a. Increased targeted research dollars – research projects should be pursued that match the mission of the University and not just for the sake of dollars;
b. Fund Raising – continue to improve.
c. Capital Campaign
d. Alumni Development
e. Renewed Effort of Creating Continuing Education Programs, especially those like ICAPP.
The West Georgia Plan: Turning up the Flame
Primary Strategic Mission: Over the next five years, UWG seeks to be recognized as a distinctive model member of the top tier (the “robust tier”) of comprehensive universities in the USG and a first-choice university for an increasing number of constituents by achieving the following goals. (USG Goal 2C)
Metrics:
1. Continued BOR recognition as a top tier comprehensive university.
2. Survey documented recognition in high schools and area colleges of UWG’s distinctive programming.
3. Measure the trend of students who list UWG as first-choice.
Goal One: Reaffirming and Improving Quality Academic Programming from the Bachelor’s to the Doctorate with a focus on liberal arts, experiential learning, and professional competencies.
Description: UWG will become a leader in Georgia in offering preparation for professional and career success built on a strong foundation of liberal education.
Goal 1A: Undergraduate Academic Programming that blends liberal arts, experiential learning, and professional competencies to prepare students for civic engagement and professions or careers in the 21st century.